Motion transmitting remote control assemblies of the type for transmitting motion in a curved path by means of a flexible motion transmitting core element are frequently used in applications to control the movement of a member from a remote location. For example, the air intake of an internal combustion engine, at the carburetor or throttle body, is typically controlled from a foot pedal in an automobile using a motion transmitting remote control assembly. Similarly, transmissions, vents, fuel doors, hood releases and the like typically employ a motion transmitting remote control assembly for affecting the desired mechanical movements from a remote actuating location. Such motion transmitting remote control assemblies often comprise a protective sheath-like conduit which slidably supports an internal moving core element. The conduit is retained in support brackets at each end to hold the remote control assembly in a routed path.
For relatively light duty applications, i.e., where the axial loads imposed on the conduit and its end fittings are not substantial or critical, the prior art has taught various embodiments of expandable retainers which quickly connect the end of the conduit to a hole in a thin-walled support bracket.
For example, German patent document no. 2314598, published Oct. 4, 1973, discloses a conduit end fitting with an expandable retainer for attaching to the hole in a thin-walled support bracket. An external rib is disposed about the tip of the end fitting and serves to attach the retainer to the end fitting prior to expansion and attachment to the hole in the support bracket. Cantilever, flexible legs of the expandable retainer snap in place behind the external rib on the tip of the end fitting in an unspread preoperative position prior to attachment to the support bracket. The retainer together with the end fitting is then forced through the hole in the support bracket. A lip on the retainer arrests further movement of the retainer, while the end fitting is pushed through the hole. This causes the cantilever legs of the retainer to blossom into tight gripping engagement with the edges of the hole in the support bracket. The primary disadvantage of this German expandable retainer is that once fully blossomed and locked in place, relatively light axial loads on the end fitting can cause the retainer to slip on the end fitting and disconnect from the support bracket.
Also, the European company Gills of England, manufactures an expandable retainer for an end fitting of a conduit. However, the Gills of England expandable retainer is not coupled to the end fitting prior to attachment to the support bracket, and therefore, is particularly prone to inadvertent disconnection and loss of the expandable retainer by installation personnel, such as during the fast-paced installation procedure on an assembly line.